Reflex
by vivalarapture
Summary: "They've always had a sort of rebound when it came to each other." A collection of one-shots oscillating around Soul and Maka.
1. Tremble

**Reflex**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors note- I do not own Soul Eater or Little Lion Man (originally) by Mumphord and Sons. This story was inspired by the version by Tonight Alive and Eerie-Innocence42 from a serendipitous Tumblr post.**

**Chapter one, Tremble**

_"Weep, little lion man,_  
_You're not as brave as you were at the start._  
_Rate yourself and rake yourself,_  
_Take all the courage you have left,_  
_And waste it on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head._  
_But it was not your fault but mine,_  
_And it was your heart on the line._  
_I really fucked it up this time_  
_Didn't I, my dear?"_

_-Little Lion Man, Tonight Alive_

It wasn't like they hadn't done this before. Their entire partnership was a balancing act; one person cool, calm and collected, the other a bundle of determined energy and blunt force. They were opposites in many aspects, and they were always butting heads, from things as minute as whose turn it was to cook dinner, to why he shouldn't throw himself in the line of fire on behalf of her.

They would never understand the others reasoning behind that one.

It had started as a normal mission, nothing the three-star meister and her death scythe couldn't handle. Two days in England tracking down the monster eating souls in the slums of the outer city and they had found him slurping the last of some poor womans life source.

The pre-kishin was bulbous and grotesque, but not as formidable as they had anticipated. His weapon of choice had been a rusted old scythe, the handle wrapped in duck tape and the blade worn thin by nicks and scratches.

Maka had to fight down the urge to take it personal as the curved blade whipped past her face. She knew it was silly to be bothered by it, but seeing as how the scythe she was wielding was her closest companion, she was taking this fight more seriously than usual.

"Maka! Would you watch where you're going?! That thing nearly cut your head off!"

Maka spun around to throw a glare at the reflection of her partner in the face of the blade before launching herself upwards to avoid another blow by the pre-kishin. She snapped her wrists back and threw herself toward the monster, the end of Soul's blade getting stuck in the cobblestone. She threw her head around to find where the pre-kishin went, only to get flattened as he landed on top of her.

Her breath was crushed from her lungs as she struggled to wiggle her way out from under the fat rolls smashing her into the ground. The pre-kishin snickered happily, raising his raggedy scythe upwards and twisting around so Maka's side was exposed.

"MAKA!" Soul screamed, his metallic voice vibrating through Maka's eardrums, "MOVE!"

Maka began to fidget manically, attempting to free herself. The pre-kishin swung his fat arms downward just as Maka began to squeeze her way out from under him. The blade carved through the exposed flesh between her oxford shirt and skirt, slicing through through layers of skin.

Maka hissed, grabbing her side and rolling backwards, finally able to get out from under him.

"We need to get out of here, _now_. You're badly injured and this thing is going to kill you if you keep going."

Maka clenched her teeth, pressing a hand to the wound on her side, "I am fine! We need to finish this!"

She could practically feel Soul's anger radiating from the cold steel in her hands. "You are in no condition to fight. Why do you have to-"

Soul was cut off as he was swung through the air, the tip of his blade barely nicking the monster rushing forward to finish what he started. Maka sprung backwards to avoid another parry from the pre-kishin. It seemed to be getting faster, the more blood Maka was shedding. It cackled with glee, hopping from foot to foot as he attacking a slowly weakening Maka.

"Maka! Get the fuck out of here! Listen to me for once in your life!"

Maka jumped in the air, swinging Soul down and once again missing the pre-kishin. "I will not stop! We have a job to do! Stop distracting me!"

She heard Soul roar in anger before the creature was once again in front of her, the scythe in his hands slicing deep into her calf. Maka bit down on her tongue to stop from crying out in pain. She would not give it the satisfaction.

She gripped the shaft of her scythe tighter in her hands, her breathing in a harsh pant. She settled her feet before springing forward, charging in hopes of catching it off guard. Such a trick did not work, as the pre-kishin swung forward quicker than Maka thought he was capable of, slicing deep into her chest.

Maka flew to the ground, her breathing ragged and short. She pushed a hand onto her chest, feeling blood soak from her collar bone. She struggled to get up, and she jumped awkwardly out of the way of his next move, her calf burning with the effort.

"I swear to Death, if you do not leave right now I'm transforming and dragging your stupid ass out of here by your pigtails."

Maka swung madly, steel clashing as the monster blocked every attempt she made at gaining contact with blubbery skin.

"STOP BEING SO WEAK!" She cried out, her voce sounding as rough as she looked. "I WILL NOT QUIT OR GIVE UP! STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME WEAK! WE NEED TO FINISH THIS!"

Maka screamed in fury, her wrists nearly cracking with the effort of smashing her partner towards the pre-kishin. It jumped to the side and up into the cold night air, raising the scythe nearly behind him as he reached back for his last hit.

Maka's calf took that moment to give up on her, sliced muscle having already taken too much strain. She fell to her knees, staring up into the fate that was about to cut her in half. Adrenaline coursing through her veins made everything hazy. It always did. It was always a strength for her in the past. It made nothing important to her except winning and not dying. But somehow that strength turned into a disaster.

She dropped her scythe, every tendon in her aching body giving out after such strenuous use, arms hanging lamely at her side. She was resigned to this fate. And in that instant, the only face she saw was Souls.

A blinding light flashed in her vision, enveloping everything in it's blue-ish hue. A clash of metal echoed in her head for what seemed like hours. When the light faded, all she could see was a whir of red and black steel.

Her vision was tilted, and she realized she was on the ground. She tried to tilt her head so she could see what was happening better, but her body wouldn't listen, and she stayed thrown to the ground, gravel digging into her wounds.

Soul was standing above her, blood dripping from his forehead and blades trembling from his shoulders. She couldn't seem to fathom the expression on his face, but she knew it had to be seething. She had called him weak. She had reached out into the most intimate places of his heart and ripped forth his most detestable fear.

She could feel tears dripping down her nose, pooling on the ripped cobblestone under her torn body. He sighed, blades morphing back into skin, and reached down to pull her into his arms to take her to a safer place. She bit down on her cheek as she felt the wounds open from the movement.

"What happened?" She croaked, blood caking her tongue.

"Don't talk." He replied, his tone curt and sharp.

Maka simply pressed her face into his shirt, trying to keep her breathing steady as they made their way away from the cataclysm they left in the wake of their fight. Her eyes were beginning to droop, blood loss and exhaustion taking its toll. Souls grip tightened on her, grunting at her in that same tone.

"Don't fall asleep. I don't know if you have a concussion."

Maka was too weak to argue, and pried her eyes back open, blinking in an attempt to make her vision clear again. "Where are we going?"

"I said don't talk."

Maka would have usually piped up about how demanding he was being, but this was not a normality. Guilt was welling up inside her, crushing her lungs much more fiercely than the broken ribs she likely had.

She heard him sigh again, but his voice was just as harsh as the last few lines he spoke.

"The hospital."

Maka nodded slowly against his bloodstained shirt, agreeing she was more than surely going to need a multitude of stitches and pain medication once the shock wore off. Every time she started to doze off, Soul would tighten his grip on her, lightly shaking her to keep sleep from taking her.

Being in a hospital was not an abnormality for any student from Shibusen, but walking into a civilian hospital carrying a tiny woman near death was not going to be a treat. As soon as Soul entered the emergency wing, he was surrounded by frightened nurses trying to pry the girls from his hands.

He managed to maneuver his death scythe badge out of his pocket, and growl angrily at the anxious staff that he was apart of Shibusen. They backed away, obviously aware of the dangerous situations they more often than not got themselves into. One of the nurses nudged him towards the hallway leading into the emergency room, a little taken back by the sight in front of her.

Soul followed the hallway and the nurse trotted away to find a doctor. Another nurse pointed him to a room and snatched a gown , following him into the cold, sanitized space. He placed Maka onto the bed as carefully as possible and turned to face the nurse. Her face was pale, but she had a determined look in her eyes.

"Go wait in the waiting room, please. A doctor is on his way to take care of her."

Soul grunted in agreement, walking towards the door. A hand grabbed onto the tail of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to see Maka with a pitiful look on her face, one that he was not used to seeing, and frankly, didn't like one bit.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her hands shaking as her grip tightened on his shirt. He nodded, gently loosening her fingers and placing her hand back onto the bed. "I know." He said softly, eyes locking with hers for a few seconds before leaving the room.

He ran a hand through his hair as he nearly collapsed into a waiting room chair, a place he was in far too often. He clasped his hands together, staring intently at the calloused skin. His finger tips twitched as he tightened his hands into fists. He was trembling. He cursed himself under his breath, flinging his hands out to his sides to clench the arms of the chair. He didn't want to see himself be that weak.

He scowled into the distance, thinking about what Maka had said to him_. "Stop being so weak!" _

He felt his chest aching and the Little Demon start to whisper maliciously through the spaces of his mind. There were cracks in there, deep caverns that wracked his self confidence. He had never let anyone in before to see those issues; but Maka seemed to seep into every part of him, filling some scars in the wood work, and tearing others wide open.

He was scared.

Every time they went on a mission, his heart raced uncontrollably and uncomfortably. He was terrified of her getting hurt, so badly so, that he couldn't even focus on the missions anymore. Every thought was overencompassed with thoughts of Maka's body laying lifelessly on the ground.

He had to protect her at all costs, and it wasn't just because she was his meister anymore. She was a part of him. He chuckled in spite of himself, she had wormed her way into his heart, soul and life, and was stuck there irrevocably.

He knew he had to distance himself, but he didn't know how, or if he was even capable of doing so. Being away from her was a horrible experience. It felt like he wasn't complete if she wasn't around to scold him, joke with him, and smile at him with that magnificent glow.

Soul crossed his arms over his chest and slouched in the chair, his brows furrowed in frustration. In the beginning of their partnership, it had been easy. They were an amazing team because they both willing to do anything to win a fight.

He wasn't scared back then.

He clenched his eyes closed, willing the thought to go away. She was right, he was weak now. Though unlike what she had said, she was the one making him weak. She just had to find her way inside and start putting back together the pieces of his shattered being. He didn't feel so inadequate when her hands were wrapped in his.

"Sir?" He looked up to see a plump older woman with a light accent in nurses scrubs staring intently at him. He grunted in acknowledgment, sitting up straighter in his chair.

"You're all bloody as well. Wouldn't you like to see a doctor?"

Soul shook his head, popping the joints in his arms with a quick pulling motion. "I'm just fine, see? Most of this blood is hers." He said with a wince, realizing that he was still wearing a shirt covered in his meisters blood.

The nurse nodded, and padded off down the hallway. She returned a few moments later with a thin blanket and pillow. "I snagged these from an empty room. She's going to be in there quite some time, so you might want to make good use of them."

Soul smiled and thanked her, as it was not usual for people to be so welcoming to anyone from Death City, let alone Shibusen. The nurse smiled softly, "Is she your girlfriend?"

Soul choked on his own spit and was momentarily disarmed. He laughed after he caught his breath, and shook his head, "No, she's not. She's my partner. Which I sometimes think is more personal than just dating."

The nurse nodded, humming in agreement, "I've seen plenty of you Shibusen kids around here. I don't know how children like you can fight monsters like that for a living."

Soul bristled slightly, offended at being called a child when he had obviously grown at least 2 inches in the last year, and was so not a kid anymore. "Hey now, lady. I'm 18, not a kid. And to be honest, it can sometimes be intense to know your life will always be fighting evil. But that's why we have partners." He grinned, sharp teeth flashing in the florescent lights, "Besides the fact that we need someone to wield our weapon form."

The nurse chuckled, ruffling his hair, which in turn made Soul bristle more than a cat who just got its tail pulled, "It seems you and your partner are very close. She wouldn't stop asking for you before they sedated her for stitches. She's going to have a painful recovery, but I think she's going to be okay. You make sure you take good care of her, okay? I can't imagine how someone that tiny goes into battle against monsters."

She walked away, leaving Soul to his thoughts once again. He pulled the blanket up under his chin and pulled his feet in, trying to get comfortable in the chair. Soul smiled as he thought about the nurses words. He was about to rebut with something along the lines of, "She's one of the strongest people I've ever met." or "You should see her with a book!"

Before he was shocked by his own realization. Maka was more than capable of protecting herself. He knew that, he always had, really, but when someone starts to mean the world to you, it's hard to just trust them to be okay.

Even in that last battle, he hadn't been able to stop her from getting hurt. She was sliced open because he couldn't get his head out of his ass and just help. He may have transformed at the last minute, but he was only sitting here right now because his blades had subconsciously melded from skin and were up in the defensive position when the pre-kishin struck.

He was willing to die for her, but what would have happened to her if he would have died? She would have been next. His hands clenched the blanket around him, and he nearly tore the thin fabric in his anger. She had always yelled at him about that. He had never understood, because he was being selfish. What would she do without him?

He rubbed his eyes with a fist, choking down the burning welling in his throat. Because what would he do without her? He didn't want her to feel the weakness he was hiding behind a thinly veiled persona of apathy. He sighed, crushing his head into the pillow and hoping to find some comfort to pull him into sleep while he waited for Maka to be okay again.

"Sir. Sir, wake up."

Soul was jolted awake, his nerves on fire. It was never a good sign to be abruptly awoken in a hospital waiting room. He looked up to see the same nurse shaking his shoulder. "What's going on? Is Maka okay?"

The nurse pulled on his hand, raising him from his makeshift bed, "You need to go see her. She's is.. Well, _avid_ that you go see her."

Soul raised an eyebrow, knowing that _avid _for Maka was yelling and cursing, but flew down the hallway and had to grip the frame to keep from sliding past the door. Maka was sitting up in bed with her arms crossed lightly over her recently stitched chest, her bottom lip pushed out in that insanely adorable way she tended to do.

He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and walked slowly towards her bed. Her face broke out into a huge grin the moment she saw him, her emerald eyes shining brightly as they locked with his. A second later, she seemed to remember their previous predicament, and her lips turned downwards, her eyes wide and almost frightened.

He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot at the side of her bed, his hand running through his hair nervously. Maka reached for his hand and pulled him onto the bed, hugging him tightly. She pressed her face into his shirt, her voice mumbled as she rambled into the dried blood caking the front of his shirt.

Soul chuckled, gently prying her from his chest, "Don't put your face there, I haven't had a chance to change yet. What did you say?"

Maka puffed out her cheeks, a blush tinting her pale cheeks, "It's my blood, what does it matter? I said I was sorry." She bowed her head, her hands fidgeting on her lap, "I'm so sorry about what happened. I didn't mean what I said and I'm an idiot."

She looked back up at him, her eyes pleading, "You're not weak at all."

Souls lips twitched, smiling a crooked grin at her, "That's where you're wrong. I am weak."

Maka put her hands up to grasp the front of his shirt, her lips forming a small "o" of surprise, "It's not true! You are so much stronger than I give you credit for. You are-"

Soul put his hand over her mouth, laughing at the irritated face she made, "Stop it, Maka. Let me finish. I am weak, but I realized why I'm so weak. I need to trust you. I am so terrified of you getting hurt, I can't focus on anything else anymore. Protecting you is my only concern, and I need to learn to let you go. You can take care of yourself."

Maka reached up and wrapped her fingers in his hair, pulling his face towards hers. She placed their foreheads together, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Souls eyes widened, but he stayed still, waiting for her to speak.

She lightly slapped his face, giggling when he sputtered angrily and tried to move away from her. Maka kept a firm grip on the back of his head, nuzzling their noses together.

"Don't ever say something like that ever again. I don't want you to ever leave me. This was all my fault, and I don't want you to be beating yourself up about it. I never, ever want you to cry because of 're allowed to show weakness sometimes. But even so, let's continue to get stronger, okay? We do everything together, you know that. But you're not allowed to leave, you got that? You had better always be by my side."

Soul felt his face flush, but he put his hands on the sides of her face, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"You're the meister, who am I to argue?"

He ruffled her hair, and Maka complained about messing up her hair.

"Oh, that's not a problem. Your pigtails are so screwed up right now. One looks like its hanging from the back of your head."

"You jerk!"

Soul leaned back on the bed, avoiding her half hearted punch, "Don't shoot the messenger. I think they look cute."

Maka's face immediately gained a rosy hue with his quip and the wink he followed it with. Soul laughed, and leaned forward again, wrapping his arms around her. Maka followed suit, her tiny fingers digging into his back as they finally got a chance to revel in the fact that they were both alive.

Soul snuggled his face into the crook of her neck, humming contentedly. "You know, I love you."

Somehow, Makas grip tightened around him, her smile just about splitting her face in half.

"I know."

**Authors note- I'm just going to do stories based on songs for now, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to write them. My Tumblr is under the same name if you'd like to submit them there. **


	2. Naive

**Reflex**

**By vivalarapture**

**Chapter two, Naive**

_"I know, she knows that I'm not fond of asking. _

_True of false, it may be.. Well, she's still out to get me._

_I may say it was your fault,_

_because I know you could have done more._

_Oh, you're so naive."_

_-Naive, The Kooks_

They were at a very delicate stage in their partnership. Being 17 years old and living with the person you may or may not be desperately in love with wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Especially when you merge your souls together on a nearly daily basis.

Soul ran a hand through his hair, kicking his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. Maka wasn't around to yell at him for putting his feet on the furniture, so he had nothing to worry about. That didn't stop him from glancing around quickly, just to make sure she wasn't hiding in the hallway with an encyclopedia.

He sighed, roughly turning on the TV and flipping through channels mindlessly. No, Maka was not here. She was on a _date_. He mashed the buttons on the remote a little harder than necessary for the next few channels.

Tonight was supposed to be their night. Every Wednesday they would pick out a few crummy horror movies and stuff their faces with Chinese take out. They had this routine for months before _Kid_ came in and swooped his meister right out from under his nose. And Maka had let it happen! She had agreed!

_"What was I supposed to say, Soul? We're just going as friends, it's not a big deal. We'll watch movies tomorrow night, okay?"_

Her words echoed in his brain, and it only made him more aggravated. She was supposed to say no and cuddle on the couch with him. No one goes out to dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants in Death city as "just friends". That damn Kid was pulling out all the stops to get Maka. He had been buying her flowers whenever he got the chance and hanging out with her one on one whenever Soul was forcefully removed from her side.

Soul gave up trying to enjoy anything that was playing on TV, and tossed the remote onto the coffee table, subsequently chipping a piece of the plastic. He winced, picking it up and inspecting it, hoping Maka wouldn't notice.

Who was he kidding? Maka noticed everything.

He stood up and walked toward the fridge, hoping food would distract him. His meister was an observant little bookworm, but she failed to see his futile attempts at flirting lately. It was because they were so damn close she didn't think anything was out of the ordinary.

He popped open their carton of milk and downed the rest, throwing out the empty half gallon on his way to his bedroom. Anytime he casually threw an arm around her shoulder when they were on the couch together, she acted like nothing had happened. When they laid down together in her bed after a particularly tough mission, she would let him wrap his arms around her, but would lay still as a board.

Even when he pulled out the big guns and kissed the nape of her neck when he snuck up on her cooking dinner, she simply brushed him off and kept cooking. He collapsed face first onto his bed, hands pulling at his hair in frustration. He was supposed to be the cool one! How had she managed to wind him up this tightly?!

He groaned into his pillow and slapped his hand around on his bedside table to find his Ipod. He grasped a tangle of wires, and he tiredly plugged the buds into his ears, searching for some smooth jazz to hopefully slow the erratic beating of his heart.

He awoke to the sound of the front door clicking shut, and someone toeing off their shoes. He sat up and wiped the drool off of his cheeks, listening for anything that might tip him off how Maka's night went.

He heard a deep exhale, that wasn't quite a sigh, and a disgruntled sound of confusion.

"SOUL! Why in the world does our remote look like you threw it at the wall?!"

He grimaced, shaking his head. His meister was observant in all the wrong things.

He opened his door cautiously, peering around into the living room. Maka stood clad in a long black dress, a wide dip in the front fabric showing off her newly acquired, _ahem_, goods. One hand rested on her hip, the other was twirling the remote in her fingers.

Soul walked into the room, a sheepish smiling playing on his lips, "You know, Black*Star was over here a few days ago, you know how he is.."

Maka huffed and rolled her eyes, setting the remote back down. "I know you're lying. It was fine before I left."

Soul scratched the back of his head, chuckling, "Yeah, I guess.. Sorry." He felt a twinge of anger in the back of his head. Wasn't he angry earlier? What was he angry about? Oh yeah! Maka! He walked closer to her, poking her in the forehead, "So how was your date with _Kid_?" He didn't mean for it to sound like Kid's name was poison on his tongue, but of course, Maka noticed.

She raised an eyebrow and started walking to her room, smacking his hand away from her, "I don't know why you're so upset about that. I told you we would have our movie night tomorrow."

Soul nearly groaned in agony. She was so off base it wasn't even funny. He followed her to her room, denying every step that he missed her and just wanted to be near her, even if it continued their argument.

"I don't care about out stupid movie night."

Maka turned towards him, a sly smirk spread over her features, "Oh really? So why are you mad? It's not very often anything breaks your oh so cool shell."

Soul sputtered, hands shoved in the pockets of his wrinkled jeans, "I'm not mad! I'm just.. Irritated that you seem to be so ignorant about Kid being into you."

Maka raised an eyebrow, her face a mixture between exasperated and confused, "I told you, we're just friends!"

Soul threw his hands up in the air, "You're so stupid sometimes! He just took you on a date to the fucking fanciest place in Death City! What is that, like, your third date? How can you not know that he likes you? He has been putting himself out there for so long now and you just.. You just don't get it!"

Maka's features were no longer in a battle for an emotion, confusing officially winning out. She stopped attempting to get the zipper of her dress down, and turned to fully face him. "Soul, what are you talking about?"

Soul mussed his hair with his hand, his muscles stiff after his outburst, "It's nothing, Maka."

She inched towards him, her hands resting lightly on her hips, "Tell me what's going on."

Soul groaned inwardly, taking a step back every time Maka got too close. They never talked about this. He didn't want to say it. He may talk big game, and even get the occasional crazy bout of courage to engage her, but he didn't want to say it.

They were nearing the living room again, their awkward dance of avoidance making Soul knock his shoulder against the wall and just about lose his balance to faceplant on the carpet.

Her stern look cracked for a moment as she giggled at his embarrassment, and he was sure of it. She was toying with him.

He put his hands up as his calves backed up against the couch, halting his escape plan, "Okay, okay Maka, stop stalking me. What do you want to know?"

Maka grinned, getting up in his face and poking him in the chest, "I want to know why you've been acting so weird lately." Soul glanced down at her, enjoying the view from his new height of boob vantage point. Maka poked him again, her brows furrowed in irritation.

Soul snatched her hand that had started continuously poking him, pulling her into an embrace. Maka squeaked, wiggling to get out of his grip. He slithered his arms down from her shoulders and around her waist, nuzzling his face into her hair and sufficiently silencing her.

"Why did you go on that date with him?"

Maka was silent for a minute, something that was very rare for his meister, until she sighed, "Because he asked, and there's no one else that's ever going to be interested in me."

Soul chuckled, his anger fading at her admission, "You really are naive, you know that?"

Maka looked up, her emerald eyes flashing between angry and hopeful, "What do you mean by that?"

He hooked his hands under her thighs and hoisted her up so she was face to face with his sideways grin and hazy red eyes. Her face had completely flushed bright red, slapping his chest and demanding he let her go. He only tightened his grip on what was nearing dangerously into ass territory, and crashed his lips into hers.

She was still at first, her shock radiating through her bones. Until something much warmer started making her blood vibrate and she tangled her hands in his hair, slanting her lips over his. Soul raised one hand to her lower back, pressing her closer and keeping her steady.

Maka broke the kiss, gasping for air, her eyes wide and clouded over at the same time, "What.. What was that for?!"

Soul chuckled, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "I've been wanting to do that for so long now. Don't go on any more dates with Kid, please?"

Maka nodded, and Soul laughed again, the dazed and breathless look on her face made him sure she would not let him down.

**Authors note- Sorry this one is so short. My spotify was on in the background earlier, and I got a little snipit of an idea. I have so many head canons, and they are running rampant here. The next chapter will be based on an idea by Tawny Haired Wild Flower. Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites!**


	3. I Won't Say I'm in Love

**Reflex **

**By vivalarapture**

**Authors note-Sometimes no matter how hard you try to tell your brain to write something, it decides to focus on Disney songs. Which then leads to really loud Disney karaoke, horrible dance moves and pissing off your neighbors at 1 in the morning. Hey, it's not my fault I can't listen to I'll Make a Man Outta You without going into full blown rock star mode.**

**Chapter 3, I won't Say I'm in Love**

_"Who you think you're kiddin'?_

_He's the Earth and Heaven to you._

_Try to keep it hidden,_

_honey we can see right through you._

_Girl, you can't conceal it,_

_we know how you feel and who you're thinking of."_

_-I Wont Say I'm in Love, Susan Egan _

It had been quite some time since all the girls had gotten together to just hang out. Everyone was so busy lately, and with all of the stress of finals and graduation nearly upon them, no one was ever free on the same day.

Liz had called Maka up that evening, ecstatic that she, Patty and Tsubaki were all free that night, and hoping to have a sleepover at the mansion. Maka had agreed, after a quip that they were probably all a little too old for sleepover, which Liz promptly ignored and squealed in happiness before hanging up.

Maka sighed as she stared at the pile of papers and books stacking up on her desk. It was one night, she could put off studying for a few hours to hang out with her friends. She packed a bag of extra clothes and pajamas, throwing it over her shoulder and looking around the apartment for Soul.

She heard light jazz coming from under his door, so she knocked quickly, opening the door without waiting for an answer,

"Hey, I'm going to spend a night with the girls at Gallows mansion, are you okay letting me skip my night to cook dinner?"

Soul grunted from under a massive pile of blankets, only a tuft of white sticking up from under the dark comforter, "S'fine." He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, "But you've got to cook my favorite tomorrow."

Maka chuckled and nodded, attempting not to get distracted by her partners shirtless form, "Deal. See you tomorrow."

She closed the door and shook her head viciously, flinging away any wandering fantasies she didn't want to delve into at the moment. Or any moment, for that matter. She tightened her grip on the backpack straps, heading out the door.

"MAKA! Get your cute butt over here, it's time for a makeover!"

She should have stayed at home and studied.

Maka groaned, trying to hide behind Tsubaki, "Liz, I don't want to! Makeup doesn't look good on me."

Liz crawled onto her bed, leaning over the shadow weapons shoulder and waggling her eyebrows, "That's because you've never let me try it!"

Maka shook her head sharply, grasping onto Tsubaki's back for protection, "Not going to happen. Last time you got drunk you tried and I ended up looking like a demented clown."

Patty giggled from her spot on the floor, smashing crayons happily into one of her many coloring books, "You did!"

Liz giggled and shrugged, "Well that's your own fault for listening to me when I was drunk. You're a smart girl, what good can come from letting a drunkard have an eyelash curler and lipstick?"

Tsubaki covered a giggle with the back of her hand, remembering how angry Maka had gotten after Liz had attacked her face with makeup products. She twisted her neck around, smiling at Maka, who was nervously pulling on one of her pigtails, "Come on, Maka-chan,we haven't been able to see each other all together for so long. Just humor her!"

Maka groaned and flopped back onto the bed, covering her face with her hands, "Why do you guys always gang up on me?"

Liz jumped over Tsubaki and tackled Maka into a hug, "Because we love you! And we know that lately you need to look extra special for a certain someone."

Maka pushed a hand into Liz's face, trying to wiggle out of the situation, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Patty stood up and threw her hands over her head, grinning gleefully, "Maka likes Soooooul!"

Maka threw a pillow with about the same force as a Maka Chop in Pattys direction, roaring under the weight Liz was putting on her sternum, "I do not like him!"

Patty stood back up, with a hand to her head, most likely aching from the pillow induced head injury, "Violence is Maka's way of denying things she doesn't want to talk about!"

Maka glared in her direction as she furiously tried to shove Liz off, who had apparently decided to play the "dead weight" game and was pretending to not hear her cries of, "I SWEAR TO DEATH LIZ, IF YOU DON'T GET OFF OF ME I'M GOING TO CUT YOU IN HALF!"

Tsubaki was frantically looking from girl to girl, her hands up in a pleading motion, quietly begging them to calm down. She managed to help Maka disengage Liz from the death grip she held on her torso, and Liz fell to the ground, holding her stomach in laughter.

Maka scowled at the blond in a tangled heap of pillows at her feet, crossing her arms over her chest. She huffed, and flung a pigtail over her shoulder, "I don't know why you guys won't drop that. I don't like Soul. We're partners, albeit great partners, but that is IT."

Liz sat up and clambered back onto the bed, keeping a fair distance from the seething scythe meister, "You keep saying that, but we all see it. Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki's eyes widened, and she felt the intense stare from her best friend on her, "Well.. I mean.. Maka-chan does deny it pretty passionately, but I definitely see a lot of chemistry between the two."

Patty jumped onto the bed, bouncing the other three girls nearly off the mattress with her enthusiasm, "You can deny it all you want, Maka, but we see it." She put two fingers up to her eyes and flung them towards Maka, "We see it all!"

Maka rolled her eyes, "Oh please. You see how much we argue, how could two people who like each other fight like that? That should be all the evidence you need."

Tsubaki smiled gently, patting her on the shoulder, "But we all know how much you care about each other. No matter how much you fight, your resonance stays so strong. It's mostly trivial, from what I hear, and it usually ends with you two cuddling on the couch, does it not?"

Maka's face turned a brilliant shade of red, "Tsubaki! I told you not to tell anyone that!"

Tsubaki chuckled, shrugging, "I'm trying to help you realize how you feel."

Maka scooted farther into the pillows, trying to disappear from the knowing grins on her friends faces, "Yeah, but that's no different from how you guys are with your partners."

Liz jabbed a finger towards Tsubaki, "Well that doesn't say much, this one's been in love with her wanna be ninja for almost as long as you've been pining over Soul."

It was Tsubaki's turn to have her face flush, "L-Liz-chan, that's not-"

Patty cut her off, sitting up and poking her in the chest, "Tsubaki likes Blaaaaaack*Star!"

Tsubaki buried her face in her hands, shaking her head, "Let's go back to Maka-chan, okay?"

Liz nodded, winking towards Maka, "Gladly! You need to realize how you feel or someday you're going to be a wrinkled old prune wishing you had the courage to face him."

Maka sighed, realizing her attempts at denial were futile around these girls, "Liz, you know how my last relationships went. I didn't trust men to begin with, but tried it out, and look how that ended!"

Liz groaned in annoyance, "That's because you went for the wrong person. Hiro was a huge jerk for cheating on you, but not all guys are like that. Especially Soul, and you know that!"

Patty and Tsubaki nodded knowingly, flashing sympathetic glances in Maka's direction. Tsubaki spoke up, a knowing look on her face, "You know, it's okay to fall in love, Maka-chan."

Maka flushed, her eyebrows furrowing, "I know that. I just.. It's scary, you know? Leaving myself vulnerable like that, especially since it's already happened to me. I don't want to go through that again."

The girls hummed thoughtfully for a moment until Patty bounced to her feet, crying, "I GOT IT!"

This time, the girls were thrown from the bed, which wasn't intended for four teenage girls to fit on anyway, all landing unceremoniously onto the carpet. Liz growled at her sister, rubbing her soon to be sore rump, "What was that for, Patty?!"

Patty jumped up and down on the bed, her short blond hair flipping up into her face, "Let's set Maka and Soul up on a date!"

Maka sprung up from her place on the floor, staring waringly at Patty, "No way, no way. That is not happening. He would never agree to go on a date with me anyway."

Liz smirked and nudged Maka with her foot, "So that's the only thing stopping you from going on a date with him?"

Maka rolled her eyes and got more comfortable on the floor, not willing to risk getting ejected from her seat on the bed again, "That's a pretty big reason." She pulled her knees up to her chest, letting her head rest against the wall, "Not the only reason, but the biggest. I mean, finals are coming up soon, and we have so much to do to get ready for graduation and-"

"Bookwoooorm!" Patty called out as she landed in a heap on the floor with the other girls, "You're just making excuses. You can get all your stuff done easy peasy and you know it! Just go for it."

Maka huffed, peeved at being called that nickname, "It's not that simple, Patty. We're partners. That never turns out well."

Liz patted Maka on top of her head as she stood up, "I don't know about that." She shook a finger at her, "Never say never, got it? Now let's go raid the fridge, I'm starving."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Maka curled up into a ball, pulling the covers to her makeshift bed up under her chin. She looked up at the dark ceiling, the soft snores of her friends and the whirl of the fan above her creating a soft hum that should have lulled her to sleep. She turned on her side, sighing quietly.

She didn't like to admit it, but that talk with the girls really got to her. She knew she had deeper feelings for her partner, she just didn't want to admit it yet. Those were treacherous waters to dive into, and she didn't know if she was ready yet.

She knew that anytime Soul wrapped his fingers around hers that her heart nearly stopped beating, only to start back up again at an erratic pace. She knew that when he snuggled next to her while they were watching a movie, she got butterflys. She knew that every time they resonated she got the fleeting sensation that she was whole again.

She chuckled to herself from the confines of the blanket she had herself wrapped in. She knew every time he smiled that lopsided grin at her, she felt deeper into something she didn't want to recognize.

She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, nuzzling her face into her pillow. She loved him, but she wasn't going to let anyone else know that just yet.

**Authors note- Silly chapter is silly. I was meaning to write something based on a suggestion, but my Disney playlist started playing and then this happened. Whelp. Maybe next time my brain will want to cooperate with me. At least this turned out cute. **


	4. Kitty Kitty

**Reflex**

**By vivalarapture**

**This is based on a suggestion by Tawny Haired Wild Flower, Maka being turned into an animal. **

**Chapter four, Kitty Kitty**

"Soul, I swear it was an accident! I was just testing out some new magic and.. Well.. I promise I didn't mean to!"

Soul was currently frozen in the entry way of his apartment, jaw clenched in a mix between apprehension and anger, the groceries he had been carrying inside forgotten on the floor.

He took one step forward, his jaw opening and closing a few times before he decided his brain wasn't going to allow him any communication skills at the moment. Sitting on the floor at Blairs feet was an ash blond cat with bright green eyes.

He pointed at the feline, trying to form a sentence, "Please tell me that isn't my meister."

Blair winced, holding up her hands for fear the shell shocked death scythe wouldn't turn on her when she answered, "I told you, it was an accident. I'll find some way to fix her, I know it! J-Just give little ol' Blair some time!"

Soul flung his head up to glare at the _other_ cat person in the apartment at the moment, "You.. You changed Maka into a fucking CAT?!"

A burst of smoke fluttered around Blair as she transformed into a cat and hid behind the now whisker wielding scythe meister, "I told you I can fix it! But only if you don't kill me! If I'm dead then how am I going to help?"

Soul threw his hands up in the air, keeping the instinct to take another of Blairs nine lives under wraps for the moment, "You have 10 seconds to explain how this happened and how you're going to fix it or you can say goodbye to your tail."

Blair twitched, instinctively curling her tail around her body. The now feline Maka was oblivious to the tension in the air, yawning and padding over to the couch to take a nap.

"I told you, I was messing around with some new magic.. It wasn't supposed to turn her into a cat, it was supposed to give her cat ears! I thought it would be adorable! I'll go get the book I got the spell from and see if I can find a reversal."

Soul ran a hand through his hair and threw a glance over at the sleeping cat curled up on the cushions. He pointed at Blair again, his finger shaking as he growled, "Go, _now_. I swear if Maka is stuck as a cat forever I'm going to skin you and use as a mini throw rug."

Blair shivered but ran out the door behind Soul, calling out another, "Sorry!" and disappearing into the city.

Soul sighed and shut the door he had forgotten to close, grabbing up the spilled groceries and putting them in the kitchen. He heard a small meow behind him, and he felt his upper lip twitch. He wasn't even a cat person, for Deaths sake.

He turned around and Maka was pawing at his leg, tipping her head to the side and looking up at him. He groaned and leaned down, not wanting to get to close to his furry partner,

"What, are you hungry or something? Shit, I don't even know what to give you. You normally hate raw fish, but don't cats like that? You better not be mad at me when you change back."

Soul rummaged through the fridge until he came across Blairs stash of fish. He smirked as he grabbed the plate, not feeling the slightest bit bad about taking her dinner. It was her fault he was in this predicament in the first place.

He turned around and feline Maka pounced upwards and snatched one of the fish right off of the plate. He raised the plate higher, scowling at her, "Hey! You nearly clawed my hand off! Have some patience, woman-err.. Cat, I guess."

Maka ignored him, or more so couldn't understand him, and downed her fish in a few seconds, jumping up on the counter and meowing for more. Soul rolled his eyes picked up a fish with his fingers, tossing it in the air.

Soul raised an eyebrow and grinned as he watched the cat do a meister-like acrobatic to catch the fish from in the air. He chuckled and threw the next one higher in the air, getting a kick out of watching Maka do tricks.

He held another fish out, playing keep away for a few moments before Maka caught the fish right from out of his finger tips. Soul shook his hand, chastising her for using claws so close to him.

He held the last fish out in front of her nose, commanding, "Sit!"

Maka sat there, giving him an incredulous look and tipping her head.

He shook the fish, repeating, "Come on, Maka! Sit!"

Maka simply turned around and flicked her tail at him as she walked away. Soul shook his head as he laughed, following her into the living room, "Even as a cat you still don't take orders from anyone."

He plopped himself down on the couch, turning on the TV and flipping through channels. Maka jumped up onto his lap, curling up into a ball and claiming the spot as her own. Soul looked down at her, his lip curling upwards in mock distaste,

"Makaaa, you're going to get fur all over my pants!"

He tried to push her off, but she dug her claws into his leg, keeping herself stationary. Soul howled in pain, glaring and holding down the urge to toss her onto the floor, "Fine. Stay here. You're going to have to wash these pants when you change back, you know that right?"

His answer was a content yawn and a tail flick, all but ignoring his protests. He sighed and leaned back into the couch, finally settling on an action movie that was playing on TV. He absentmindedly started scratching behind her ears, the purring that thrummed through the tiny cat lulling him into a calm, sleepy state.

Soul stopped to turn down the TV, and grinned as she mewled at him pathetically, not at all happy that his ministrations had stopped. He chuckled and continued scratching her back, "You're a lot easier to deal with when you're a cat, you know that? If I could shut you up just by scratching your ears when you're a human, I'm sure we'd get into a lot less arguments."

Maka nudged his hand with her nose, willing him to pet her head again. He complied, not as interested with the movie on TV the sleepier he got. He yawned, stretching out on his back across the couch, moving Maka over to rest on his chest.

Maka didn't seem to mind, nuzzling into his chest and meowing happily before closing her eyes and curling up again. Soul continued patting her, his eyes drifting close,

"You know, I really wish we could do this all the time. When you're a human, anyway."

Maka climbed off his chest and slipped under his arm, purring loudly as she finally got comfortable. He moved his hand so he could pet her as he drifted off to sleep, the warm bundle of fur tucked under his arm.

When Blair got home, she opened the door quietly, poking her head through and hoping Soul wasn't waiting to slice her in half. She walked inside, seeing no seething weapon, and slowly shut the door. She was about to call out that she had found the book, and thank goodness, the spell only lasted a few hours.

Her eyes drifted to the couch before she could speak, however, and her lips curled up into a satisfied smirk. She put a hand on her hip and surveyed the scene in front of her. Maka was back in her human skin, wrapped in Soul's arms.

The two teenagers were a tangle of limbs at that point, and Maka's face was pressed into Soul's neck. Blair couldn't help the happy purr that poured from her lips, and she brought her manicured claws up to her lips. No matter what form they were in, her kittens were the cutest things she had ever seen.

She sauntered into the kitchen, knowing that after her "good deed" that she deserved a good snack. She sniffed the fridge and frowned, not smelling the fish she had bought earlier. She gasped, her head nearly hitting the top of the fridge as she stood up, squealing in anger.

Blair stomped into the living room, crying, "You let her eat my fish?!"

Both partners jumped at the noise, falling onto the floor and attempting to disengage their suddenly entwined limbs. Soul glanced down at Maka, who was currently being crushed under him, and grinned, "Hey! You're human again!"

Maka took no time blushing furiously at their position and shoving him off, standing up in a huff.

"Don't even start with me, Blair." Soul growled, rolling over and standing up finally. "You turned her into a cat, you get to lose your food!"

Maka flung her head around towards Soul, her tongue hanging out and a disgusted look on her face, "Uhhg! My mouth tastes horrible! Why did you let me eat that?!"

Soul's jaw dropped before he pointed at Blair, "Hey, hey now! Don't be mad at me, this is all her fault!"

Whether or not it really _was_ Blairs fault, Soul still got chopped to the ground, grumbling and rubbing his head angrily.

He directed his eyes to Blair, glaring daggers at her, "You. You had better run."

Blair squeaked, once more bounding out of the apartment in a puff of smoke. Soul sighed as he stood, his head still aching. He let himself grin, though. Maybe next time he'd convince Maka to cuddle with him on the couch while she wasn't a furball.

**Authors note- I think Maka would look adorable as a cat, just saying. Is that a thing? Feline!Maka. Well if not, it should be. **


	5. All Over Again

**Reflex **

**By vivalarapture**

**Authors note- I'm currently obsessed with writing Soul Eater: New Vegas and not getting anything else updated. So I figured, hey! You're writing one shots, eh? Let's make a SE:NV one shot! There's not a lot of fluff in SE:NV, it's mostly action and a lot of bloody battles, but I wanted to write some cutesy nonsense going on between Maka/Girl and Soul/Boone. So never fear, if you haven't read SE:NV this will still make sense, but I'm also hoping this will peak some people's interest in the real story. **

**Chapter five, All Over Again**

It had been a long few weeks of travelling, and Girl felt downright grimy. She attempted to wipe her bloodstained hands on her jeans, only to accomplish making the blood an almost muddy consistency after it mixed with the dirt on her pants. She growled angrily, flinging a hand out and smacking Soul in the shoulder.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

He tripped on a crack in the destroyed highway they were trekking, rubbing his aching shoulder, "I didn't even do anything!" Girl huffed and stomped her feet a little harder,

"I'm sick of you being so cheap! The next time we come across a town we are _going_ to spend some caps and get a room to rent for the night!"

Soul rolled his eyes and shifted the rifle on his back around to avoid hitting previous battle wounds that were being irritated by his companion, "You never care about that, what does it matter anyway? We should be spending our caps on important things, like food and water that isn't irradiated beyond belief."

Girl pouted, agreeing that eating the pre-war food they had been forced to eat the past few days had been pretty awful, "But didn't we just get a ton of caps from that last mission? We can afford some purified water, fresh food _and_ a place that has a shower!"

Soul shrugged, shading a hand over his brow and surveying the vast desert that surrounded them, "Well I don't see a town anywhere near here, but whatever. You're paying for the room out of your half, though."

Girl stuck her nose in the air, just happy she had won the argument, "Well then that means I'll be the only one whose sleeping in a bed and actually getting clean."

Soul chuckled, choosing to ignore her threat. He was actually looking forward to getting clean and sleeping in a bed for once and not the dusty bedroll he carried on his back. He resisted the urge to sniff himself, knowing it had been at least 3 weeks since he'd gotten a decent cleansing.

He glanced over at Girl, who was walking slightly faster with the knowledge that she was going to get the gunk out of her boots at the next town. The edges of her hair were still stained black from the last nightkin they had killed, the dark colored blood staining nearly every surface it spilled on.

Soul ran a hand through his hair, happy that his white locks were still adequately clean, other than the film of dust that had settled there since they started walking. He nudged Girl with his hand as he spied a small group of shacks bundled together in the distance,

"Hey! There's something. I just hope they're friendly and not another settlement of raiders.."

Girl nodded enthusiastically, bounding forward and leaving Soul in a cloud of dirt.

"Wait up! It's not going anywhere, there's no need to run!"

Girl laughed and called out over her shoulder, "What, you can't keep up with me? OX could always stay right on my heals! Are you going to let a floating robot one up you?!"

How dare she compare him to that hovering hunk of metal?! If OX was there at the moment and not getting repaired in New Vegas, he was sure the AI would have beeped in a smug manner, smacking Soul with his antenna as he sped past him to catch up with Girl.

Soul scowled at the tiny woman getting increasingly farther away from him, pushing his legs to catch up to her. It wasn't his fault he wasn't made for rushing headlong into battle like she was! He was a sniper, his job was to stand back and guard, taking care of things from a distance.

But this woman! This infuriating, beautiful, strong, violent and kind woman was making him rethink everything he had previously thought about himself. She was a contradiction in every way possible, but he couldn't help falling a little more in love with her every day.

When he broke down one night, soon after they started travelling together, trying to hide his tears over the loss of his brother, Girl had simply wrapped him in her arms and held him until he could recover his apathetic attitude and mutter a gruff, "Thanks."

She never brought it up again, and her eyes never looked at him with sympathy, only respect.

One minute she could be plowing down enemies with her rifle, all ferocious blows and calculated fury, the next she was cooing at their robot companion, OX, patting his metal frame and gushing about how strong he was for a pre-war artificial intelligence.

He couldn't seem to wrap his head around the enigma that was Girl. She had lost all her memories, barely knowing how to inject a stimpack, but had braved the vicious Nevada desert all alone.

She was so good a dealing with people, something he was eternally jealous of, and everyone who met her was in awe at the small creature that was so dedicated to fixing everyone's lives. The moment he met her up in the mouth of that snipers nest, he knew she was someone he wanted in his life.

Maybe it was the way she ignored the red eyes and sharp teeth most people avoided like the plague, positive he was a monster created by radiation and best to not get too close to.

Maybe it was the way her eyes flashed when she was confronted with danger, how they seemed brighter, clearer almost. How determined and confident she was, like nothing could touch her.

Maybe it was the careful touch of her hand when she wrapped up his wounds after a fight. She was cautious with her movements, always giving him a gentle brush of her fingers over his face to make sure he was still alive and with her.

With all the factors that went into the reasons he was falling in love with his companion, the one he was most sure of was that it was because she trusted him. No one besides his deceased brother had ever really believed he wasn't a monster.

For all of the fighting that surrounded the Wasteland, the people sure were skittish about anything out of the ordinary.

But not Girl, she had held out her hand, that wonderful smiled lighting up her face, and asked him to travel with her. She had been right, people worked better in twos, and the way her fingers hung in the air, just waiting for him to take, pushed him to take the first big leap in his life.

_"Alright, I'll go with you, but this isn't going to end well."_

At that time If he had only known the trouble they would get in together, he probably would have turned her down in a heartbeat, perfectly content to waste away in sorrow and blood as he hunted down Asuras Legion on his own.

If he had only been tipped off to how twisted and dangerous their adventures together would be, he would never have taken her hand and agreed to be her spotter.

But he wasn't informed about any of that, only feeling a soft flutter of his heart when he wrapped his hand around hers should have warned him that his pessimistic retort would someday come true.

As he finally caught up to his exuberant companion, who had slowed down substantially so he could keep up, but he wasn't going to let her know he knew that, one thing was solidified in his mind.

Knowing what he does now, he would have done it all over again.

Slowing down to a walk, Girl grinned at him, her calm breathing in stark contrast to his exhausted pants.

"How do you do that?! You're making me look really uncool right now."

Girl chuckled as they walked into the small town, happy to find that it was devoid of raiders or any mutated enemies.

"You need more cardio." Is all she replied, her sunburned cheeks flushing from his underhanded compliment. She called out to a man leaning against a shack, his cowboy hat pushed over his eyes. He looked up and smiled, waving her over.

"Do you have any place we could rent for the night?"

The man nodded, pointing to a shack towards the south end of town, "Sure, 50 caps for the night. That also includes the outdoor shower we've got."

Girls face nearly split in two from smiling so big, "Great! We'll take it! Thank you!"

The sun had long set, and a slight breeze whipped around the dirt surrounding the town, bringing a cool relief from the heat of the afternoon. Other than the occasional howl of a coyote in the distance, the small town was quiet. It was a peaceful interlude to their usual danger filled lives.

Soul was _not_ going to take this time for granted.

He curled up on the dirty bed in the corner of the shack, sighing contentedly now that he was finally in a bed and free of the crusty cover of dirt and grime on his skin. Girl walked into the room, using an old shirt to dry her ashy locks still wet from her shower.

She smiled and plopped herself down on the bed, motioning for Soul to scoot over. His eyes grew wide, and he stuttered for a moment, "I-It's totally fine if you want me to sleep on the floor, you did pay for the room."

Girl simply brushed him off, getting comfortable and pressing her back against his chest, "Don't be a baby, I don't care."

Soul bit his tongue before he said something that ruined this golden opportunity he was rarely blessed with. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close and reveling in the softness of her skin. For someone who spent her days fighting for her life, she was still relatively feminine.

His fingers traced her shoulder, counting the scars that lined her body. She exhaled heavily, happily letting him touch her, "It feels so good to be clean and safe."

He hummed his agreement, too distracted by the way she sighed to really answer.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it up to her face, and he could feel her smile, "I'm glad you came with me."

He chuckled, finding great pleasure when she shivered against him,

"Me too."


	6. The Mechanics of Fighting

**The Mechanics of Fighting,**

**With Soul and Maka**

**By vivalarapture**

**AKA One Week by Barenaked Ladies.**

Anyone than knew Maka and Soul longer than a few minutes could tell there was an adequate amount of tension broiling between the two. Now, Tsubaki would bet her life on the tension being of the _sexual _kind, but for fear of being skewered by an overly sensitive Maka, she kept her mouth shut.

Kid was legitimately impressed by the intricacies that went into their fighting. It was always the same, no matter what the fight was about, and it usually lasted around eight days. On the first day, they would rant and rave and generally cause quite a ruckus. Patti had actually seen Maka tackle Soul before, launching herself across the living room with a fierce cry and pinning him to the carpet.

Black*Star thought it was absolutely hilarious, and loved to egg them on after the second day. He would rile Maka up first, knowing she was the easier target, and remind her of whatever silly thing had started their fight. Maka would nod along with Black*Star, her fists clenched at her sides as she echoed his accusations.

"Yeah! He _should_ know better than to leave his shoes in the doorway by now!"

Black*Star would clap a hand on her back and push her forward, excitedly telling her to go confront Soul and give him a piece of her mind. He would snicker into his hand, following behind Maka on her war path and thinly conceal the joy he got from making his subjects dance.

The rest of their fighting was usually done behind closed door, and no one really knew how they kept up their perfect resonance after so much yelling. If anyone was to ask Liz, she would smirk knowingly and make an obscene gesture, winking wildly.

The rest of Spartoi had a good idea as to what went on between the meister and weapon, but tended to stay out of it. Besides Killik, who occasionally attempted to console a fuming Soul when he showed up at his house in the middle of the night and demanded they play basketball. The twins thought it was funny, and giggled whenever Soul showed up at their house and dragged their meister away for a few hours.

Kim and Jackie thought it was stupid, and made that fact known every time Maka tried to confide in the pair. Kim would roll her eyes and Jackie would raise an eyebrow, not understanding how any reason Maka gave them was worthy of a week-long brawl with her partner. They would tell her such, and Maka would leave even angrier than she had arrived.

OX observed from afar, and secretly relished the fights, knowing that whenever they had a blow out, that Maka was never as concentrated on her school work. It's not that he liked to see her fail, but after the unwashed dishes debacle of 2013, he had just nearly beaten Maka for 1st in the class. That was something OX just couldn't pass up, no matter how morally ambiguous.

Harvar had no opinion other than his normal distaste for anything loud and distracting. And if Maka and Soul's fights could be pegged as anything, they were loud and distracting.

"How long have we lived together, Soul?! How hard is it to remember that _my_ toothbrush is red?! There's nothing worse than waking up and realizing your toothbrush has been reduced to a mangled mess of torn out bristles!"

"Well this wouldn't even happen if you could keep your toothbrush on your side!"

Maka stood strong, one hand on her hip and the other holding what looked like a toothbrush that had been run over a few times. She waved the offending object in his face, her eyes slit in a menacing glare,

"RED! IT'S RED, SOUL! How do you mistake my RED toothbrush for your BLUE ONE?! NO MATTER WHERE IT IS IN THE BATHROOM!"

Soul shrugged, and then immediately regretted the action, knowing Maka hated nothing more than indifference during their fights. That was actually half the reason he usually did it, loving getting a reaction out of her. But this was day four of their fight, and usually by day four he was starting to back down. Shrugging in the face of a furious Maka Albarn was definitely not backing down.

Her eyes widened before she stepped forward, jabbing the toothbrush into his chest, "A shrug?! Seriously?! You just don't know how in the world you managed to use my toothbrush and destroy it with your damn teeth?!"

There it was. Soul's nonchalant glance turned into a furious scowl, and Maka took a step back, realizing she had made the first misstep in their tried and true method of arguing. They never attacked each others weak spots during their fights, no matter how vicious they became, but Maka crossed the line.

Soul pushed past her, growling dangerously low, "Well excuse me, sorry my _fucking teeth _ruined your precious toothbrush. It's not like I can't exactly CHANGE THEM."

Maka turned around to try and rectify the situation before Soul slammed the door to his room, "I- Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"

Like clockwork, the words "I didn't mean it like that." set off a reaction with the seething weapon, causing him to flip around halfway through his room, "Then how did you mean it?!"

Maka sighed angrily, shuffling her feet and suddenly finding the carpet fibers to be extremely interesting, "I-I just meant that.. That I like when my stuff is perfect. A-And you do tend to go through a lot of toothbrushes, and maybe so you don't have to use mine when yours gets.. _Shredded_, we could buy in bulk?"

Soul eyed her suspiciously before wrestling down the immense urge to hug his distressed meister and turned to go into his room.

"Whatever."

He shut the door behind him and let out the smile he had been holding back while Maka could see him. It wasn't his fault he found it insanely adorable whenever Maka would realize that this time it might just be her fault. She was so cute when she was mad, and it was getting increasingly more difficult to reign in both his hormones and his grins when Maka got really into an argument.

He leaned against the back of his door, chuckling lightly when he heard Maka mumbling angrily and incoherently. He caught a fragment of one of her muttered sentences, and nearly pulled open the door to question the validity of his hearing.

"-stupid. I for one _love_ his teeth.."

Maka roughly pulled open the door to her room and flopped down on the bed. It wasn't like she enjoyed these fights, but something in the way Soul's eyes flash every time he spits a clever comeback at her makes Maka's toes positively curl. She wouldn't say she likes the constant arguing, but watching him bare his teeth at her after a particularly snide remark makes her blood catch fire, and okay, maybe she liked _that_ aspect of the fighting.

Maka covered her face with a pillow and went through the last few days in her head.

She woke up to a toothbrush missing half of its bristles.

She woke up Soul by throwing the toothbrush at his face.

They yelled.

The next morning she forgot to pick up another toothbrush and had to use the shredded toothbrush.

They yelled again.

The next day she had to chop Liz for telling her to, "Fuck and get it over with."

They gave each other the cold shoulder.

This morning Soul made a snarky comment about oral hygiene.

They yelled again.

She flipped over onto her stomach and stared at the wall that separated their rooms. Many arguments had been solved and started by calling through the paper thin walls. She huffed and put her face into the comforter. He probably already knew she was sorry, there was no reason to push the matter. It would still be a few days before she worked up the courage to really apologize anyway.

A few hours later, Soul took out his headphones and made his way into the kitchen. It was Maka's turn to cook, but they were behind schedule and he didn't need another week of this fighting. They were nearing day five and they weren't supposed to still be fighting. Maybe ignoring each other, perhaps pointed glares in the hallway, but not fighting.

Soul rummaged through the fridge and tried as hard as he could to not slam the door. Even their fridge suffered when they fought. He grabbed the cordless phone from their kitchen and dialed out for Chinese food. He plopped himself down on the couch and waited. Either for Maka to come out and start throwing pots and pans around to make dinner, or for her to scuttle into the bathroom to get ready for bed and not come out at all.

He wasn't sure which one he would dislike more.

He ran a hand through his hair, staring at the blank TV screen in front of him. He hated fighting with Maka. Sure, it was fun to rile her up and watch her cheeks flush pink, but his favorite thing in the world was casually attempting to cuddle with her on the couch.

There would be none of that for at least two days. He jumped when the doorbell rang, but quickly tore himself away from his thoughts and paid the driver who knew him on first name basis by now.

He dropped the food on the coffee table and was about to risk knocking on Maka's door when he saw her head peak out from behind the hallway. He smirked and waved her over. Her footsteps were soft and calculated, and he knew that meant she was still angry but was trying to act normal.

"Hey. It's my turn to cook dinner."

Soul flinched at the glacial tone of her voice, "Well yeah, but I was in the mood for fish and I know you don't like the smell when you cook it and.. So I got Chinese."

Maka raised an eyebrow, but padded over to the living room and sat down on the couch, "So what movie are we watching?"

Soul couldn't help the grin that spread over his face, scrambling over to the glass case to the left of their TV,"Oh, uhm.. How about a samurai movie?"

Maka hummed noncommittally and began to dig through the bag of food in front of her, "Whatever you want."

Soul couldn't believe his good luck. He put the movie into their DVD player and had to stop himself from leaping onto the couch next to her. Maybe the fight was over! He could just pretend to forget about her teeth comment, and to be honest, she kind of redeemed herself when she said she _loved_ them, and they would be fine again.

These fights weren't as common as everyone else made it out to be, and he was excited for them to shift back to their normal routine.

Maka plucked a piece of chicken out of the container and chewed lightly as she watched the beginning credits roll past. She had to admit, Soul was playing a little dirty by ordering take out and watching a movie with her. Curling up next to her weapon and watching a movie was her favorite thing in the world, and no fight was going to stop her from enjoying his warmth.

I mean, maybe everything was okay again? She could just buy a bunch of toothbrushes and keep them stashed under the cabinet and everything would be fine. He didn't need to know that she was desperate to end this fight while simultaneously trying to keep her dignity. Just because the thought of Soul's mouth on her toothbrush brought about a whole slew of unnecessarily blood curdling feelings didn't mean he had to know that they weren't all anger.

Soul shifted closer to Maka under the guise of reaching for his plate of food. Maka held back a giggle and let his arm fall comfortably over her shoulders.

She knew that no matter what the fight was about, they would be okay. No matter how silly the argument, they would always get over it. They were a team, and no matter how heated the yelling and screaming got, they always knew that. If they needed to let off a little steam, they were both on the same page, they would always be there to be a punching bag. Because no amount of snide comments could make Maka fall out of love with her partner.

He was her rock, and she knew it. She was pretty sure he knew it, too.

Soul nudged her side and opened his mouth, his unspoken sign that he wanted a piece of her chicken. Maka laughed and shoved him with her shoulder,

"Nu uh! Two more days until you get food stealing privileges back."


End file.
